


feel the rain on your skin.

by JamieB93



Series: Blood Feud [15]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Genre: Angry Harry Osborn, BAMF Peter Parker, Bruce Banner Hulks Out, Cute Miles Morales, Harley Keener & Peter Parker are Siblings, Harley Keener is a Good Bro, Johnny Storm is a Good Bro, M/M, Miles Morales Needs a Hug, Norman Osborn's A+ parenting, Peter Parker Has Nightmares, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is a Good Bro, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Ben Parker, Protective Harley Keener, Protective Harry Osborn, Protective May Parker (Spider-Man), Protective Peter Parker, Teen Peter Parker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:15:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28527576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JamieB93/pseuds/JamieB93
Summary: In which, Peter and his brothers are evacuated from Manhattan after Bruce Banner hulks out for the first time. Peter's heroics lead him into almost certain death, and his surprising abilities begin to arouse suspicion. Not least from Peter himself.As the boys head to Washington to be reunited with their father in the aftermath of the attack, tensions rise and they soon discover the man's true ambitions.
Relationships: Ben Parker & Peter Parker, Ben Parker/May Parker, Harley Keener & Peter Parker, Harry Osborn & Johnny Storm, Harry Osborn & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Johnny Storm, Peter Parker/Johnny Storm, like barely....it's a one sided crush but peter doesn't even know it's a crush lmao
Series: Blood Feud [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1709539
Comments: 39
Kudos: 82





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY NEW YEAR! This was all going to be one big chapter but I did the first 4.3k words and felt I might as well just post it and leave you on a bit of a cliffhanger. This entry will be multi-chaptered.
> 
> The last two installments were both a little lower on the views and comments side which I'm putting down to Christmas but I am aware the series was getting very bleak, so I'm trying to move past just Angst! Angst! Angst! and am trying to do some lighter/more mystery driven entries. This is where the real overarching bulk of the plot really starts to come into play and I'm very excited about it.
> 
> Second chapter of this installment should be very, very juicy!
> 
> Anyways, Happy New Year and enjoy!

**Blood Feud**

**Book 2:** _Descent_

Part III: Feel The Rain On Your Skin.

_Friday, November 30 th, 2007, Oscorp HQ Labs, Manhattan, New York City._

The lights blinded Peter once again. The ten-year old groaned and squirmed a little as he lay on the all-too familiar table, his arms and legs strapped down and a seal over his mouth, eyes darting frantically back and forth as the scary looking men in white coats and their clipboards surrounded him taking notes and talking about him as if he wasn’t even there. It was one of those moments where he was always so sure that none of this was a dream, that it was real, that he really was taken and experimented on by a man who looked and sounded a lot like his father.

A dream, it was always just a dream, it never seemed real when he woke back up and he was safe in his bed surrounded by his brothers. A dream, just a bad dream…..but it had hurt this time, it had really, really hurt this time. He cried. Dream or not, ten years old or not, he wanted nothing more than to wake up and run to his mother and have her hug all the pain and worry away. But no matter how many times he tried to open and shut his eyes in the vain hope that the next time would be the time that woke him up, it never came and he was still strapped and gagged to the cold metal table.

The familiar hand caressed his hair.

“Not much longer now, Petey” the dripping voice of his father rang out, “You’ve done very well today. It will all be over soon and then you can go back to sleep.”

Sleep…..sleep sounded good. Peter decided that the figure who looked and sounded a lot like his Dad was right; it wouldn’t be too much longer now and it wasn’t as if any of this was actually real. He’d wake up from his dream soon and he’d be all curled up with his Mom on the sofa watching movies and having loads of junk food. She’d be upset and talking to him about how he’d had another seizure and Dad had had to take him to the doctors which was probably why his dream felt so weird and life-like.

The needle pressed into his arm again and Peter once again felt the searing hot pain it always left behind and began to thrash around and pull at his restraints. The men around him all hummed and took notes once again as Peter screamed through his gag and tried to make them understand that he was really hurting and they needed to let him go. Tears pooled in his eyes as the men continued to shuffle around him and another needle was pressed into his arm, this one giving him almost an electric jolt of pain.

Suddenly, Peter felt his strength increase and he was able to pull at one of the straps that was holding him down and dislodge it. A few of the men in white coats gasped and stepped back a little bit as Peter screamed once more and pulled out the other strap keeping his arm down and then began to work on his legs, which he freed quickly and then removed the strap from around his mouth and just ran.

“PETER, GET BACK HERE-“

“We can’t let him get away-“

“PETER!”

Peter just kept on running and running until eventually he was stopped by running straight into another man in a white coat. As he fell to the floor, Peter looked up and was relieved to see the man standing in front of him was his Uncle Richard.

“You….here….” the boy panted.

“It’s OK, Pete” Uncle Richard replied, he knelt down and brushed Peter’s sweaty mopped hair out of his eyes, “It’ll be over soon-“

“What you-?” Peter began to ask but before he could finish his sentence, Uncle Richard poked him in the wrist with another needle and Peter finally felt himself fall away.

The next thing he knew, he was where he knew he’d end up. On the sofa at home. His head resting on his mother’s lap as she stroked his hair, his brother sitting on the floor in front of him as they all watched a movie together, and his father was nowhere to be found. Peter groaned. That had been a bad one.

“Hello, sleepy head” his mother said warmly as she smiled down at him and Peter smiled back as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, “Nice of you to re-join us. How are you feeling?”

“Tired” Peter replied, “And a bit-I’m at home, right?”

“You are baby” Mary said affectionately.

“No hospital?” Peter asked again, “No doctors?”

“Just me and your brothers” Mary assured him, Harry and Harley had both turned around and scrambled towards Peter now they knew he was awake. Peter smiled as Harley took his cold hands and warmed them up with his own as Harry climbed on to the sofa and rested his head on Peter’s knee.

“Good” Peter said with a yawn, “That’s how I like it best. That was bad one, mama. I dreamed I was at the hospital with the bad men again.”

“Oh honey, those painkillers Dad gives you must really take their toll” Mary sighed, “I’d ask him to give you a smaller dose but he says they’re the only thing that takes the edge off you, honey, and I don’t want you to be in pain.”

“’S…Okay” Peter mumbled, “I know they’re only dreams, they’re not real. Scary though. And I hurt a lot in them.”

“Oh baby, I am sorry” Mary sighed as she played with his hair once again, “But you’re right, they’re not real, and dreams can’t hurt you.”

“Unless you get really scared and fall out of bed!” Harley added in his eight year old wisdom, “And that won’t happen cos you’re always between me and Harry!”

“He could accidentally take one of us down” Harry replied with a laugh, “And then we’d just grab the third one. If one goes down, we all go down.”

“And then we get back up” Peter laughed despite the headache that was coming on.

“That’s my boys” Mary chuckled, “Always got each other’s backs.”

*

_Friday, July 29 th, 2011, Osborne Penthouse, Manhattan, New York._

Peter had been sound asleep having a perfectly nice dream about him and Liz Allan having a running race in a pretty meadow when he was suddenly woken up by a panicked looking May who flipped his lights on and shook him a little.

“Wasss goin’ on?” Peter groaned.

“You need to get up and dressed honey, quickly” May replied frantically. She left his bedroom and went next door, presumably to do the same to Harley. A part of Peter just wanted to ignore her and put his head back under his pillow but the look in her eyes had seemed pretty serious and he felt he should probably do as she says. Once up and dressed, he ventured into the living room where he found Harry and Johnny Storm, already dressed, and waiting, watching CNN live and Peter was shocked as what was on the television came into focus.

“What the hell is that?” Peter asked, he almost chuckled at the sight it was so bizarre. On the television, they were being shown live pictures of what Peter could only describe as a muscley green monster tearing down parts of lower Manhattan.

“The green dude?” Johnny answered, “Apparently it’s some scientist that got hit by some of the radioactive blast.”

“What radioactive blast?” Peter replied.

“Jeez, you really are becoming a heavy sleeper dude” Harry chuckled, “It was about half-an-hour ago, did you not here it? There’s been some major experiment gone wrong at one of the labs down by Oscorp. They were messing around with biochemicals or something and it’s all gone wrong.”

“Dad’s…..not gonna like that” Peter said slowly.

“Reed probably will” Johnny scoffed, “He’s probably going to use this to create some even bigger nerdier plan but he’ll make his go well…..I didn’t even know you Dad’s company was into this kind of stuff?”

“It’s not” Harry said seriously, “Or wasn’t, he’s not had much to do with the running of the place since he did us all a favor and fucked off to Washington. Beck’s the one who’s been left in charge which-hey, look on the bright side, I know part on Manhattan’s getting destroyed and that dude’s gone all wacko but at least we might get rid of Beck once and for all out of this.”

“You’re all heart, Osborne.” Johnny sighed. Peter laughed. As nice as the idea of getting rid of Beck was, he wouldn’t have wanted to go about it this way.

Ben and May soon made their way into the living room with a very confused and grumpy looking Harley, whom’s eyes immediately went wide with fear when they landed on the TV and saw the destruction that was happening just mere streets away from them. Peter sighed and went over to hold his younger brother’s hands as Ben took a call.

It was Norman. He didn’t sound happy.

“Come on, we’ve been told we need to leave” May explained, “They’re not going to be able to contain….whatever or whoever that thing is by the time he reached us. We need to go quickly, boys, understood?”

“What about Reed and Sue?” Johnny asked, “Shouldn’t they-?”

“Call them and tell them to meet us at the Long Island house if they can” May told him as Johnny pulled out his phone and went to make his own call, “Are you boys, OK?”

“Will Dad get into trouble for this?” Harry asked, “The news is already saying that they know it was from Oscorp.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that, sweetie” May replied.

“I’m not worried” Harry smirked, “Just thinking about how sweet it would be to see the son-of-a-bitch rot in jail.”

“Language” May reminded him sternly, though Peter couldn’t help but notice that she didn’t seem in a rush to reprimand Harry for wishing a probable life-sentence on his own father. As much as Peter wished to have as little to do with Norman as possible, he wasn’t exactly wishing him a life in prison. Especially for something he hadn’t done.

Ben came back into the room and hung up the phone. Peter had been expecting him to look a little bit more stressed than he did but then again, Ben was always brilliant in a crisis and managed to keep a level-head.

“Dad’s not happy, I bet” Harley said as Ben shoved his cell in his back pocket and began picking up their hastily packed bags.

“Yeah, he’s had better nights, bud” Ben smirked, “Look, I know we all planned to go to the Long Island house but there’s been a change. Norman wants us with him in Washington and I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I agree.”

“Why?” Harry asked sharply, “I’m not going to Washington, Ben, no way and good luck trying to make me.”

“It does seem a little hasty, honey” May interjected, “I’m not sure that it’s a good idea, especially not with-“

May gestured over her shoulder and Peter knew she was referring to him. They hadn’t seen their father since he’d offered Peter the chance to come and live with him and Abigail – or Morgan, as she was now named – in Washington. Whilst Harry and Peter were more or less back to normal now, it was all still a bit of an elephant in the room and Peter knew that going there and seeing their Dad and Morgan was bound to bring up some heightened feelings for him and his brothers.

“Look, when all’s said and done, my job is still head of security” Ben replied, “Before everything else, my responsibility is to keep you boys safe. There’s some radioactive mutant or whatever tearing up the streets and even once he’s contained, everyone already knows this is Oscorp’s failing, alright? Your Dad thinks, and I agree, the best thing for the boys safety is if they’re out of New York until this mess is sorted because there are going to be swarms of reporters and angry residents and what better revenge for property damage than to damage some Osborne property….”

Peter gulped. He had a feeling Ben meant more than just damage to buildings. May seemed to share this opinion as well and turned to face Harry, who was sitting frowning with his harms folded on the couch, apparently intent on not going anywhere.

“Ben’s right, we need to go Harry-“ she began.

“I’m not going anywhere” Harry snapped.

“We can argue about it on the plane” Ben said calmly, “Harry, I completely understand why you don’t want to go to Washington, but you are going to Washington. It’s not a choice or something you can debate. You’re coming, whether I have to drag you there or not, and I think the both of us know I could so get your ass of the sofa, get your bags and then you can hate me and swear at me for the rest of the summer. As long as you’re alive, I don’t give a shit.”

Harry looked between everyone in the room for a few seconds; then directly at Peter who nodded and this seemed to be the thing that managed to persuade his big brother to just suck it up. Harry grabbed his bags and stormed past Ben and Peter, muttering a clear “fuck you” under his breath as he past Ben, and headed out of the penthouse. Harley and Johnny followed and Peter grabbed his bags before leaving as well.

“Oh shit-Johnny!” May exclaimed as they were half-way down the stairs. The boys all stopped in their tracks and looked back up at her, “We have Johnny. Ben, we can’t just take a kid we don’t even have custody of all the way to Washington!”

Ben’s face paled a little bit as it became clear that he hadn’t really thought this part through, though Peter couldn’t really blame him as Johnny had spent so much time at their house over the summer that he’d pretty much become an unofficial fourth Osborne boy. Peter had enjoyed having Johnny around a lot, he was such a warm and friendly person and Peter always felt a little safer with him around. He found himself getting excited to see Johnny and he often just shut up and basked in all things Johnny whenever the boy was around. The idea of going to Washington without him honestly made Peter feel a little anxious.

“We’re just going to have to take him with us” Ben said frantically as they finally reached the street and headed towards Ben’s car, “We haven’t got time to get him back to Reed and Sue, and the private jet is already waiting for us at LaGuardia. I’m sure they won’t have too much of a problem with it.”

“Sweet!” Johnny said enthusiastically as he flung his shoulders around Peter and Harley’s shoulders, and even Harry managed a small smile, “Road trip!”

“We’re going on a plane” Harley giggled as Ben unlocked the car and began to load their bags into the trunk.

“ _Best_ behaviour, I mean it” May said warningly to Johnny as she passed him. He merely smiled and kissed her on the cheek. She pretended to be annoyed and pushed him forward to put his own bag in the car.

Peter stopped and stared in awe as the full view of what was happening came into view. There was a dark green ominous glow over downtown Manhattan, clearly originating from the Oscorp skyscraper. That hadn’t been shown on the news.

“Whoa, trippy” Johnny said as he stood next to Peter, “It’s like a really fucked up version of the Christmas story meets Terminator 2.”

Peter smiled as Johnny patted him on the shoulder and headed into the car. Peter was about to join them when, just barely, he was able to hear the sound of a small child crying. He turned around and tried to see if the kid was near but the street was already empty.

“Peter, get in the car bud” Ben said sternly from the drivers seat. Harry, who was still holding the back door open for Peter, looked at his brother with confusion.

“Pete, come on” he called, “I don’t wanna go as much as you do but that shit is real and heading towards us. Don’t freak out on me now.”

“Is Peter OK?” Harley squeaked.

“Oh God, I think he’s having a panic attack” May said from the front seat. She unbuckled her belt and got out, putting her arms on Peter’s shoulders but he shrugged them off and moved in the direction he could still hear the kids cries.

“Does no one else hear that?” he asked.

“Yeah, the fucking Apocalypse headed our way, I hear it” Harry snapped, “Now can you please hurry up and get in the fucking car. I’ll hold your hand all the way to Washington if you’re about to have a panic attack but can you please have it in the fucking car!”

Peter ignored his older brother. The crying was getting louder and more frantic. He wondered how the hell none of the others could hear it, it seemed to clear to him. The kid, probably a boy, was ducked behind something and was whimpering for their Mom. They were definitely just on the next street. Peter reckoned he could get to the kid before any danger reached them and started running towards the source of the sound.

“PETER, WHERE ARE YOU GOING-“

“PETER COME BACK!”

“WHAT’S HE DOING? WHAT’S HE _FUCKING_ DOING?!”

“Oh just stay here, I’ll get him.”

As well as the voices of his family and the cries of the scared kid, Peter could also hear the sound of the monster getting closer and closer, though he couldn’t see it yet. Peter covered his ears. It was all becoming a little too loud and too much but he had to get to that kid. He was fully sprinting now, still able to hear the whimpers and cries of the child and turned on to the next street where he was immediately confronted with ten times the amount of destruction that he had seen before.

Houses were ruined, cars had been flipped upside down, water mains had broken and there were massive potholes in the road. Peter had no idea how he could have gone through sleeping through an explosion and the subsequent rampage to being so clearly able to hear a child crying one street over despite all that still going on around him. Peter’s eyes darted around as he tried to find the source of the whimpering, which was much louder now and he felt slightly relieved that he had come to the right place.

Which very quickly turned out to be the wrong place.

Peter stopped in his tracks and held his breath as the green-like monster from the television suddenly stumbled on to the same street as him. Peter’s heart rate picked up exponentially and despite every instinct in his body telling him to run, he knew now more than ever that he couldn’t leave some poor kid behind. Peter almost wanted to call out to the boy but he couldn’t risk attracting attention to himself; the monster seemed to be having something of a calmer moment and Peter could swear it almost looked as if it was in pain. Then he remembered that whatever this thing was, it had been a person just a few hours ago and probably was very confused and scared and in a lot of pain.

As he tentatively walked around the street and tried not to attract any attention to himself, he crouched down and was relieved when he found the kid hiding underneath a turned over car. He was a small African-American boy with curly hair who couldn’t have been any more than five or six years old and who was shaking as he peeked at Peter from behind his hands.

“H-hi” Peter whispered, “Are you OK?”

“Scared” the boy replied. Peter took a deep breath, not realizing until that very moment just how scared he was as well. He gulped.

“It’s OK” Peter assured him, offering his hand, “I’m here now. Where’s your Mom and Dad, huh?”

“Got split up” the boy answered, “When everyone was running and then the big monster appeared and I hided under here.”

“That was probably a good idea” Peter replied, still whispering, “D’you wanna come with me? I’m with my Uncle, and I bet he can help us find your Mom and Dad. I bet they’re looking everywhere for you.”

The boy nodded and took Peter’s hand as he climbed out from his hiding spot. He was freezing and Peter hoped that Ben and May wouldn’t be too mad he run off and that they’d still let him stay with this boy until they found his parents. For whatever reason, Peter’s attempts to lift the boy from the car attracted the attention of the green-monster whose mood was apparently back up and he once again started to throw things around the street. The boy whimpered as he climbed into Peter’s arms and Peter just began running with him, desperately trying to move away from the monster who was now in hot pursuit of them.

“PETER” Ben’s voice rang out as Peter reached the end of the street. Peter hadn’t even noticed that his Uncle had apparently caught up with him. Ben’s eyes were wide and horrified and suddenly everything seemed to be going in slower motion, and Peter could feel the kid scrambling to get away in his arms. Turning around, Peter completely lost his breath as he saw a yellow taxi cab flying through the air towards them. He couldn’t move. He knew he should have been able to but for some reason his legs just refused and he was stuck rooted to the spot as Ben screamed. “PETER! MOVE NOW! MOVE!”

Peter gasped as the car got closer and closer to them and instinctively reached his hand up, even though he knew it was useless. He was expecting pain. Or a loud crash sound. But it didn’t happen. A few seconds passed and Peter found himself breathlessly panting on the floor with the kid still tucked into his side, one hand raised and one almighty dent on the cab door which had been heading towards him just seconds before. Peter quivered as the taxi fell away from him and landed just before them. He looked at his own hands in confusion but was duly pulled away by Ben, who also lifted the kid into his arms and started them walking away. The monster seemed to have found something else to distract himself with.

They had only been walking for a few seconds when Peter heard the frantic sound of a mother running towards them.

“MILES?!” she shouted, “Miles! Is that you, honey?!”

Ben sighed with relief as he dropped Miles into his mother’s arms. She cried and hugged him close to her as he put his arms around her neck.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you” Miles’s Mom said to Ben over and over again, “He got split up from us in the rush…..oh my baby, you’re OK”

“I hided Mama just like Daddy always says to” Miles squeaked, “But I did talk to a stranger but he was actually nice. He saved me.”

“Saved you?” his Mom asked, “Saved you from what? What happened?”

“The…err, whatever it is….he threw a cab at them” Ben explained uneasily, Peter was still a little too shellshocked to talk, “It just missed them, fortunately, but Peter here was the one who find Miles and got him out of harm’s way…”

The next thing Peter knew he was being swallowed up into a bone crushing hug by Miles’s mother who went from thanking Ben over and over to thanking him. Peter smiled and managed to be present enough to wave back at Miles when he and his mother were picked up in a police car and driven away.

“I don’t….Ben….that should have, why didn’t it….” Peter mumbled as Ben gently guided him by the shoulders back to the car. He should have been dead. The cab should have flattened him and Miles like pancakes but he’d stopped it. He’d just put his hand up and the cab stopped? How was that even possible? And he’d made a massive dent in it? Maybe it was just his Mama watching over him, but Peter didn’t even know if he still believed in all that stuff, could miracles like that just happen?

“I dunno, buddy, but let’s just be glad you’re alright” Ben sighed, “What are we going to do with you, eh? You can’t just keep putting yourself in harm’s way like this.”

“Couldn’t leave him” Peter muttered, and he felt himself slip away again. He was only vaguely aware of the sequence of events that followed. May hugging him tightly and clearly wanting to scream at him but stopping when Ben gave her that look, Harry not even being angry like Peter expected but simply pulling him into a hug and holding his hand in the car as he’d promised earlier, Johnny and Harley quieter in their reactions but both looking as pale and white as Peter felt.

It was mostly quiet as Ben drove them out to LaGuardia where one of Norman’s planes was picking them up. Peter was lost in his own confusion. That should have been it. That should have been the end. Why wasn’t it?


	2. The Fall Guy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoy Part 2! Sorry it took longer than planned, life has been crazy and I got a little de-motivated as the last few chapters have literally halved in the average of readers and reviews which is tough to deal with. PLEASE leave a review if you have any thoughts on this chapter, a lot of the time ideas for certain things actually get spurred on by reviews. I really do cherish each and everyone so please, please leave one if you have anything you want to say.
> 
> OK, enough begging from me; here's Chapter 2!

**Feel The Rain On Your Skin.**

Chapter 2.

Washington D.C. was a city in chaos by the time that Norman Osborne’s sons touched down in his private jet. The incident in Manhattan which had caused Bruce Banner to become infected with radioactive materials and mutate, destroying all around him as a result, had already made international news and Oscorp and the United States as a whole were being criticized around the world for the careless messing with radioactive substances. The incident had put them on a higher plain of tension with North Korea, Russia and Iran and the news that Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross had been seriously injured by Banner in the attack had only made things worse for Norman Osborne and his corporation. His burgeoning career as a possible senator for New York seemed to be in jeopardy and he’d already been told he would have to face congressional hearings over the incident.

The decision to evacuate his sons from New York in the midst of the attack hadn’t been one that took Osborne long to decide. Norman knew that the boys, particularly Harry, were not his biggest fans and it was better to have them around and persuade them to keep to the story he had concocted with a panicked Quentin Beck the night before. Beck, who had been in charge of operations in New York since Norman had moved to Washington to concentrate on his political ambition, was sheep white as he stood by Osborne as they watched the private jet carrying his son come into view.

Norman was as visibly tense as he always was before he saw his sons. Beck didn’t know if it was guilt for the way he’d treated them or abandoned them that drove the expression, and he didn’t really care, the three brats were annoying and got in the way. He had been hoping that if he’d had the chance to run Oscorp properly that Norman would have removed his plans for one of the boys to take on the company when they were all turned twenty-one. Now thanks to Bruce Banner poking around where he shouldn’t have been, that was all ruined and up in the air.

Harley Osborne was the first off the plane. He made his way down the short flight of stairs and rubbed his arm nervously once he reached the bottom, not making eye-contact with Beck or his father. Peter and Harry followed soon after and stood on either side of their youngest brother; Peter looking bone tired and shell shocked whilst Harry seemed to be carrying a certain anger that had been building a little bit more every time Beck had seen him since Norman left New York.

Ben and May Parker were the last ones off of the jet, tailing after Johnny Storm, whom’s presence Norman had made it clear he was not happy with.

“What the fuck have you done?” were Harry’s first words as Norman stepped forward to get closer to his sons, “We’ve been watching the news all the way here. Why would you mess around with that shit?”

“Not here, Harry, not now” Ben Parker said darkly. He placed a hand on Harry’s shoulder and it seemed to instantly calm the teenager, who rolled his eyes and gave his father the middle finger before climbing into the car, closely followed by Storm.

Harley followed with May by his side. Norman grimaced a little as she stared daggers at him before Peter, the last to enter the car and carrying two small cuts on his forehead, stepped forward and looked up at his father.

“You’re going to have to think of something really smart to get out of this, Dad” he told his father, “You know I nearly got crushed to death last night, right?”

“Peter, I-“

“You’re never going to change” Peter shot back and his tone was so un-Peter like that even Beck felt the sting. Peter was never ever as open about his anger as he was in that moment and what remaining colour was left in Osborne’s face drained away. Beck felt his unease rise; he knew that what had happened in New York was because of his calls and not because of Norman yet it was his boss who was baring the brunt of the blame, even from his own sons.

Peter walked away and climbed into the backseat of the car next to Johnny Storm. Ben Parker, having finished loading their bags, sighed heavily as he closed the trunk of the car and reluctantly walked over to Norman.

“I suppose I should really thank you and May for acting so quickly and getting the boys out of harms way so quickly” Norman said, pulling himself together and winning back some of the intimidating nature he liked to exude, “Without your quick thinking, I hate to think what could have happened.”

“Well the worst almost did happen, Norman” Parker sighed, “Here and now isn’t the best place to have this conversation, but whatever sick little experiments you and my brother did on Peter for years both put him in danger and saved his life last night. You’d better just pray no one gets it to the media that as well as damn near killing the secretary of State, your companies actions may have also caused permanent mutation in a thirteen-year old boy.”

“We’ll talk when we get back to the house” Norman replied, “Does Peter seem aware or at all suspicious of his condition?”

“He’s an intelligent kid, Norman” Ben shot back, “He’s not an idiot, and he likes to question things. I’d be very surprised if the cogs in his head aren’t already working away. So on top of finding a way to keep yourselves out of prison, maybe you could also dedicate some time to explaining to your son why the hell he can hear noises from three blocks away and why he’s strong enough to stop a taxi cab from crushing him.”

Beck’s heart stopped in his chest for a second. Those were the worst case scenario side effects for the experiments they used to perform on Peter. It had only ever meant to be out about testing the lowest dosage of Norman’s enhancement concoctions in order to see whether they were even viable for human consumption, they were never meant to be anything more and they certainly weren’t meant to have left Peter with any permanent mutations.

At least, that’s what Beck had been told. As he watched Ben Parker dismiss Norman and head into the car, Beck’s eyes never left his bosses side and he couldn’t help but shake the feeling that despite the previous nights events in New York City being down to him, that he’d somehow been set up by his boss for the almightiest of falls. The worry lingered for a moment, before Norman turned around and flashed Beck a smile.

“Oh don’t look quite so worried, Beck” he said with ease, “I’m not about to feed you to the dogs over this. We already have a fall guy and, believe me, it’s not you. If you were to go down, I’ve got no doubt I’d be doing down with you.”

Beck breathed a sigh of relief. If ever there was one thing Norman Osborne would prioritize; it was self-preservation.

*

Everything the previous night had happened so quickly that it wasn’t really until he was riding towards Norman Osborne’s D.C. penthouse that Johnny Storm could really begin to appreciate the sheer weirdness of the situation he had ended up in. He knew that Reed and Sue were now on their way to come and collect him and as much as he loved Harry, Peter, and Harley he felt almost relieved (and more than a little bit guilty) that he would be out of this situation at some point.

Because it was tense. Very tense. From what Johnny understood, Osborne had left the Beck dude in charge of operations in New York whilst he concentrated on his political career in Washington and Beck had upped the level of experimentation which had lead to one of the Oscorp scientists, Bruce Banner, being hit by a powerful force explosion which made him mutate into the green monster that had ravaged Manhattan the previous night. And he’d nearly killed the visiting Secretary of State, Thaddeus Ross, in the attack. So, not only was Oscorp now getting heat for the unethical experimentations they were also looking at facing the consequences for possibly killing the third most powerful man in America.

As they pulled up to the very heavily guarded Osborne penthouse, Johnny wasn’t surprised when Norman, Beck and Ben Parker all disappeared into some private study and May told the boys to just sit and wait up in their rooms until everything was sorted. Morgan was apparently at their grandparents home for the time being which had upset Peter a great deal when he had been told.

“So, he just has fully furnished bedrooms ready for us here that he had no intentions of ever letting us actually use, hm?” Harry sighed as he and Johnny arrived in the room that had been assigned to him, “That man kills me. I hope they lock his sorry ass up for good this time. Then we get to have Abbie back and I’ll finally know peace.”

Johnny gave his best friend a sad sigh as he watched him flop down on his bed and run his hands down his face groaning. He knew Harry was stressed. He’d never seen his friend as on edge and desperate as he had been the previous night when Peter had run off, he was practically beside himself.

“Your Dad’s slippery, dude” Johnny warned him, “Don’t be surprised if he manages to talk his way out of this somehow.”

“Damn it, this bed’s comfortable” Harry smirked, pointedly ignoring Johnny’s words, “This is nicer than my room back home, honestly. Rat bastard. He really committed to whatever weird façade he was trying to pull with this.”

Johnny sighed and flopped down on the bed next to Harry. It was more than big enough to fit the two of them and with Reed and Sue not likely to arrive before the following morning, Johnny was psyching himself up for sharing a bed with the boy who made his heart skip a beat every time he walked in the room. If Harry was aware of Johnny’s ridiculously big crush on him, he didn’t say and Johnny appreciated that. He tried, in vain, to talk himself out of his crush on Harry and persuade himself he only saw the boy as a friend but then Harry would do something like tell a dumb joke or lift to reach something or suddenly go all soft and tell Johnny how much his friendship means to him and then Johnny would be a sucker for him all over again.

“You’re not annoyed that I’m here, are you?” Johnny asked, hating how needy he sounded.

“No, of course I’m not” Harry exclaimed, “Hell no, I need you here to keep me fucking sane, Johnny. Have you seen the state of my life? Have you? I need you. You’re like an anchor keeping my freak outs from bubbling to the top.”

Johnny smiled and sighed as he leaned his head back on the pillow and looked at Harry who scowled with a smile on his face before pushing his shoulder a little. Even now, when they’d been up for eighteen hours and hadn’t showered and everything smelt of teenage boy, Johnny was still so gone for his best friend.

“I am a crusty disgusting creature right now” Harry groaned, “I’m gonna go and figure out how to work that stupid fucking shower. Looks like the Starship enterprise-crap, don’t tell Peter I made a Star Trek reference….”

Johnny grinned.

“Good luck pal” he said, determined to look anywhere but at Harry’s bare back as his friend pulled his shirt off and headed into the en-suite bathroom, locking it behind him. Johnny tapped his fingers on his stomach impatiently until he heard the water turn on and Harry call out in victory. Smirking, Johnny lifted himself off of the bed and changed his clothes and headed out of Harry’s room across the hall to Peter’s. He could vaguely hear the discussions taking place downstairs but figured they were none of his business so knocked on Peter’s door and entered when called.

Peter was sitting on his bed still looking a little shell shocked and overwhelmed. Johnny whistled as he took in the sight of Peter’s room. Whatever game Norman was playing, he was playing it very well. Just as Harry’s room had been perfect for him; dimly coloured, classic movie posters on the wall and a flat screen TV mounted on the wall, Peter’s seemed perfectly designed for him as well. Star Wars figurines everywhere, a state of the art computer system in the corner and a bookshelf full of titles which made Johnny’s brain hurt just trying to read. There was even a small microscope station on the other end of the room. Peter was sitting on his bed, looking around a little panicked, clearly trying to figure out what to do.

“You good?” Johnny asked.

“Yeah, I think” Peter shrugged, frowning, “Weird day. I should be dead, really.”

“What do you mean, Pete?” Johnny was honestly shocked to hear the usually bright and cheerful Peter talking like that.

“I should’ve died last night!” Peter exclaimed suddenly, “That cab was coming straight towards us, Johnny, it should have crushed us. I-I don’t understand how it didn’t.”

“Don’t question it, dude” Johnny replied, “I know it might not make sense and that you’re really confused and you wanna know, but you’re fucking alive, man. That’s the most important thing. Don’t get lost in your head. You had some good luck, just accept that.”

Peter nodded but Johnny felt he’d clearly not done a very good as the boy looked close to tears, he pulled his knees up to his chest and seemed to be on the cusp of saying something else when Harley barged in looking more excited and animated than Johnny had probably ever seen him since their Mom died.

He threw himself on to Peter’s bed like the goofball kid he was.

“Aww man, he didn’t get you fish!” Harley said as he looked around the room, “I’ve got like the biggest tank of fish in my room, ever. All different colors and everything. So cool. You can’t lie Petey, these rooms are sick.”

“Yeah, yeah they’re good” Peter replied heavily, “Just-just, it’s Dad y’know, there will be a catch somewhere Harls, please remember that.”

Harley nodded a little reluctantly.

“I know, but they are cool” he said sadly, “And whoa, look at all the books you’ve got Peter!”

“Yeah, there’s definitely a lot” Peter sighed as he looked towards the bookshelf. It was clear to Johnny that the boy was struggling to decide between keeping his pessimism towards whatever intentions his father had spoiling his sons like this but also really wanting to just explore and enjoy and embrace what he really wanted to do. Johnny had noticed that about Peter a lot. He always seemed hesitant to let himself enjoy something just for the sake of enjoying it.

So, Johnny being Johnny, decided that ultimately it was better that Peter at least got some time just enjoying himself and being who he wanted to be. Walking over to the bookshelf, Johnny picked out three books at random and handed them to Peter. The younger teen took without protest, to Johnny’s surprise, almost like he had been waiting for someone else to give him permission so that he could indulge himself.

“These are pretty cool actually” he said under his breath after a few minutes. Harley smiled at Johnny and Peter before announcing he was going to go and name his fish, making Johnny promise to come along and meet them in a while. Cautiously, Johnny sat on the edge of Peter’s bed and tapped him on the arm.

“You good?” he asked.

“You ask that a lot, you know” Peter replied.

“I just like to make sure my friends are doing good” Johnny said brightly.

Peter stopped and looked at him confused for a second. Johnny recoiled back a little, raising his eyebrows.

“We’re friends?” Peter asked, blushing a little.

“Well, yeah, duh” Johnny replied as if it was obvious, “Pete, we hang out together and we enjoy it. I’d say that’s being friends, wouldn’t you?”

“Yeah but you’re _Harry_ ’s friend” Peter insisted, “You’re only hanging out with me cos you’re hanging out with him and I happen to be around.”

“Do you see him in this room right now?” Johnny asked. Peter rolled his eyes and smirked, “I came here to talk to you cos I wanted to talk to _you_ cos you’re my friend. Or is this your drawn out way of telling me you hate me and don’t want to be my friend?”

Peter’s eyes blew wide open with fear and he shook his head rapidly.

“No! Of course not!” he exclaimed, “You’re awesome, I really like when we spend time together, I just always thought you were just hanging out here cos of Harry-“

“Look, Peter, you annoying ugly rat faced brother has somehow wormed his way into my heart and is my best friend that I would die for” Johnny explained, “But that doesn’t mean that you’re not also my friend, Harley too. Just the way it is with me. I’m everyone’s friend unless they’re a sexist, racist, or homophobic asshole.”

Peter nodded.

“Good to know” he chuckled. Johnny ruffled his hair.

“Read your books, enjoy your damn self for once” he said, “In the meantime, I am going to go and tackle your big brother into a hug and try to make it so he’s not going to be a surly asshole for as long as we’re here.”

Peter smiled and leaned back on his bed, devouring some book about evolution in seconds as Johnny turned and closed the door behind him. Making his way back to Harry’s room, Johnny blushed immediately as he walked in on his friend standing around in his underwear and looking through his phone.

“Dad’s saying he’s holding a press conference in like three hours” Harry said as Johnny approached and flopped back down on the bed, “I’ve not heard anyone shout or scream downstairs all this afternoon so I guess they must have come to some kind of evil arrangement. Probably blame it all on me.”

“Nah” Johnny replied, “No one’s going to believe you’re smart enough to come up with something like this. You’re the eye-candy, Osborne, nothing more.”

“Don’t I know it” Harry replied smugly as he looked at himself in the mirror, “Those workouts with Ben are really starting to pay off. I’m almost at your league.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself now, Osborne” Johnny shot back, impressed at his ability to act like he wasn’t now completely flustered, “Now please would you get dressed. No one needs to see your flat ass this close up.”

Harry rolled his eyes and carried on getting dressed as Johnny informed him about Peter and Harley’s reactions to their rooms, as well as his concerns for Peter’s mental health after his reaction to surviving the attack last night.

“Peter’s gonna overthink that to hell” Harry sighed as he slipped a t-shirt over his head and sat down next to Johnny, “I know I am. I get why you said what you said to him Johnny, but it’s seriously strange and when you know some of the things I do-“

“Things?” Johnny frowned, “What things?”

“Just some….look, I can’t tell you” Harry sighed, “I wish I could but it’s honestly better that you don’t know. Especially not right now.”

“Dude, whatever it is, I promise I won’t tell anyone” he replied, “Come on man, you can trust me. We tell each other everything.”

“Not this time, Johnny” Harry replied impatiently, “Just drop it. Please? For me.”

Johnny nodded. Harry smiled and squeezed his shoulder in gratitude before getting up. It made Johnny feel bad that Harry and his brothers had so much on their own shoulders and he just wanted to help lighten their load a little.

He supposed that all he could do, for now, was be there and be their friend. And try to stop himself falling even more hopelessly in love with Harry and let it ruin their friendship. Because no one needed that.

*

Harley was still a little confused about everything that was going on. He understood the broad strokes of what had happened and why his Dad was in trouble. What confused Harley more was why his Dad seemed to have decided to have ready-made state-of-the-art personalized bedrooms ready for Harley and his brothers when, as far as Harley knew, he’d never had any kind of a desire to even have them over to stay. Harley wasn’t necessarily complaining though; he loved his room. The fish tank was awesome and all the DVD’s and the laptop computer were definitely coming back with him to New York if May would let him.

Harry had told him that their Dad was having a press conference about the attack on New York that afternoon and that they should all watch it. Harley wasn’t sure he really wanted to but his brothers were and he knew that if anything crazy happened, it would be better if he saw it himself rather than had to rely on them to let him know. The boys were alone in the penthouse with May by the time their Dad’s press conference approached. Ben had gone with Norman as extra security because there was a lot of anger being directed at his father and apparently at Harley and his brothers as well. There were armed guards on every entrance and exit to the house, which didn’t really make Harley feel as safe as it should have.

Harley was feeding Mary – the most beautiful of the tropical fish he had named that afternoon in his room – when May knocked on his door and entered.

“Hey baby” she sighed, moving towards him and running her hand through his hair, “Ooh, we might have to think about getting you a haircut too. This is getting very long.”

“I like it” Harley shrugged, “Makes my face look thinner.”

He only realized he’d said something wrong when he heard May sigh sadly behind him before wrapping her arms around him. He smiled and turned to face her.

“I’m a little scared” he admitted.

“It’ll be fine, Harls” May replied, “I promise you. I know it’s all scary and up in the air and we’ve all been really stressed, but I promise you that no matter what happens, Ben and me and your brothers are going nowhere.”

Harley nodded. He guessed that was all he needed.

“I like my room” he admitted, “It’s really cool, I like the fish. I called this one Mary.”

“That’s lovely sweetheart” May sighed, “Just don’t get too attached, baby. I don’t think we’ll be able to bring the fish back to New York with us.”

Harley frowned and pulled away from her. He was an idiot. He’d already let himself love the stupid fish, especially Mary, even though he knew that he more than likely wouldn’t ever see them again once they want back to New York.

“What if they send Dad to prison?” Harley asked, “He won’t be able to keep this house if he goes to prison.”

May stayed silent and Harley could feel her watching him with careful consideration as he continued to savor his moments with the fish. He felt stupid. Like a stupid child. Getting all excited over some dumb stupid fish and even naming them. Saying what he’d said about wanting to look thinner even though he knew he was fine as he was right now. He pulled at his sleeve and frowned.

“Harls, are you OK?” May asked.

Harley turned around and nodded. May didn’t seem to believe him but smiled back and cast an arm around his shoulder as they headed out of his room and down to the living room where his brothers and Johnny were waiting to watch their father’s news conference on the television.

“May?” he asked just before they reached the living room.

“Yes sweetheart” she answered.

“I don’t think I need to be thinner” he told her, “I don’t know why I said that I think sometimes it’s like my go to place to say when I get scared. I’m-well, you know I am eating and stuff now. I am alright.”

“Glad to hear it, baby” May replied with a smile as she brought Harley into a side hug, “You are perfect and gorgeous just as you are. You don’t need to change a thing.”

“You said I needed a haircut” Harley replied crinkling his face as he smiled wide, “That’s changing something about me you know.”

“Oh don’t tell me you’re starting your sassy years as well” May sighed, “I can’t handle three at once.”

Harley merely hugged her back and they walked into the living room where Harry, Peter and Johnny were already sitting and waiting for Norman’s press conference to begin. Harley could immediately tell that his eldest brother was very on edge and Peter seemed to be trying to ignore the situation as much as he could by burying his face in one of the many books that Norman had got for his bedroom.

“How long?” May asked as she and Harley sat down.

“They said the next ten minutes” Harry sighed, “What do you think Dad’s going to say? I bet he worms his way out of it somehow.”

May coughed awkwardly before tapping Peter gently on the knee. He put his book to one side and looked up at her.

“I know what he’s going to do, we all know what he’s going to do” Peter said knowingly, “He’s going to pin it all on someone who didn’t do anything wrong.”

*

“Before I begin” Norman Osborne’s droll voice rang out to over thirty million homes across the United States. He’d managed to insulate his sons from the sheer chaos that the previous nights events in Manhattan had caused around the globe, this was the biggest story of the year and as he spoke, Norman knew that the whole world’s eyes were on him and this was make or break. Sink or swim. If he didn’t manage to convince the world that he’d had no prior knowledge of any mutation style experiments within the Oscorp company then it was all game over. “I would just like to acknowledge all of those who were personally affected by the events of last night and Dr. Banner’s accident. I am deeply sorry for the damage done to your homes, your businesses, and your sense of security. I am heartbroken and disappointed that the good name of Oscorp has been brought into disrepute like this. It has always been our mission and purpose to uplift and help the world progress through science, not harness it for destructive and personal gain.”

“The events of last night are an anomaly” he continued, “Dr. Banner’s accident and the presence of Thaddeus Ross at the site were unfortunate coincidences. Secretary Ross had been stopping by for a conference with my deputy chairman, Quentin Beck, when the incident took place and I am deeply heartbroken that he has been so grievously hurt as a result of malpractice on behalf of some rogue employees within my business. I would also like to make it clear that I consider Dr. Bruce Banner to be one of the leading scientific minds of this era and that he is not to be held in any way personally responsible for the destruction. He is as much of a victim in this as anyone else.”

There were a few murmurs amongst the press. Norman knew that opinion was divided on whether Banner should be criminally prosecuted for the damage he did whilst so out of control, but he had decided it was better to appear at least publicly sympathetic towards Banner for the sake of his own future. Truthfully, Norman felt like he could kill Banner with his own two hands if he ever got hold of him. This had never meant to go this far, and whilst Beck had acted above his station, it was ultimately Banner’s arrogance in his pursuit of scientific breakthrough that had caused this incident.

“Mr. Osborne!” one reporter called out once Norman had opened the field to questions from the press, “If you do not feel Dr. Banner is to blame for the destruction caused in downtown Manhattan last night, whom do you feel is responsible and should pay the price?”

Norman took a deep breath.

“Oscorp will be issuing its own internal investigation as to the cause of last nights events and identifying those who have acted in malpractice and caused it” Norman replied, sounding as calm and reassuring as he could, “I can assure you that those responsible will be held to account in anyway see fit, they will at least have their employment within our company terminated and it will then be up to law enforcement as to whether they feel any criminal charges need to be pressed. Yes, next question-“

“Have you made any attempt to contact Thaddeus Ross or his family over the last twenty-four hours, sir?"

"I have sent a message of sympathy and a visitors request once Mr. Ross is well enough to receive them” Norman said with a smile, “For obvious reasons, Secretary Ross’s loved ones are more focused on his well-being and getting him through the difficult next few weeks before I become directly involved with him but rest assured myself and my company will be entirely behind the Secretary as he recovered and will answer with transparency any questions or criticisms he may have.”

“Have you spoken with the president? She was pretty quick at decrying you and your handling of the crisis this morning.”

“I have not yet spoken directly with the president” Norman answered as diplomatically as he possibly could, “I feel it is disappointing that she appears to be trying to turn this into a partisan issue. I think if she had taken the time to speak with me before making her statements this morning, she would have been better informed and not caused more chaos and confusion as she, I’m sure unintentionally, managed.”

There were some more murmurings for the crowd at the one, and Norman felt like kicking himself a little bit for letting some of his genuine frustration come through, but President Clarke was already deeply unpopular and he knew that speaking out against her wasn’t going to cost him too much support.

“Mr. Osborne, you state that your company has never engaged in procedures which aim to mutate human DNA in the way we saw effect Dr. Banner last night, but you are on record numerous times talking about how you specifically planned to utilize DNA in your bid to help recovering veterans. Why say something of this nature when it can be so easily proven false?”

Norman smiled. A challenged. He liked that.

“Well, my dear” he said calmly, “What you need to understand is that Oscorp’s commitment to helping combat veterans recover from debilitating injuries is harnessing our studies with DNA to help others. My statement, which you are taking out of context, merely says that Oscorp has never used the DNA studies for acts of scientific hubris and I believe that to be true.”

“Then how do you explain last night’s display?”

“As I have said, the matter will be investigated” Norman said with a smile, “And those who have overstepped their boundaries will be dealt with accordingly.”

“Mr. Osborne, it has been well documented that in the two years since your wife’s tragic death, you have taken a major step back from the company to focus on raising your children and to enquire about your political ambitions – including a move to Washington D.C shortly after your wife’s death – without sounding insensitive, sir, would you say you have perhaps taken the eye off the ball too much when it comes to Oscorp? That your stepping back has allowed the company to slip away from your own personal mission?”

A perfect question. So good Norman almost wondered if the reporter was some kind of plant.

“I feel that may unfortunately have been the case” Norman sighed, “The thing about single fatherhood and raising four children on your own….is that that becomes your primary focus. I assumed I had a team I could trust running my company and evidently I have been naïve and foolish to assume I could step away as much as I have, for both family and for politics. I chose to focus on my sons and my daughter as a father and I chose to focus on politics because I believe I am the person best equipped to bring the issues facing New York to the national conversation. So yes, I would say that my greatest failing in this matter is that I have cared too deeply about external issues however my children will always, always come before anything else. As I’m sure every parent in America can understand.”

They were eating out of his hands now; he had made the perfect pivot. Though he had been shocked by the venom radiating out of Peter when they had arrived at the airport, Norman had since come to the conclusion that Peter’s near-miss with death was actually a fantastic spin opportunity.

“How are your sons, sir? We understand they were in Manhattan at your home there when the attack began?”

“Yes, unfortunately they were” Norman sighed, “It was my weekend in Washington this weekend so I had left the boys in the care of my family friends Ben and May Parker, whom I trust more than anyone, and it is thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Parker’s quick-action last night that my sons were able to be evacuated to safely in a timely manner. We did, unfortunately, have a terrifying moment where Peter – my second eldest – was directly in the path of Dr. Banner’s rampage but thankfully, he is unharmed but obviously very shaken.”

And _that_ caused the room to explode, leading Norman to have to literally bite down on his tongue to stop the smug smile that begged to paint his lips from doing so. The room was abuzz with the news. Norman knew that when Mary had died it had been, for whatever reason, Peter who had managed to pull on the heartstrings of the world more than anyone else and Norman knew that hearing he had been so close to death would now change the whole narrative. After all, Norman Osborne would never put his own son directly in harms way.

“Sir, what are your actions regarding your deputy CEO Quentin Beck likely to be?”

“Quentin Beck has been a loyal employee and right hand man for ten years” Norman replied with a fake sigh, “It is devastating for me to have to even consider that he may have had some involvement with this most unfortunate event. My trust in him, for now, is unwavering but I have asked that he step down from his role until any investigations both internal and external are completed and I have advised that he be completely transparent and honest with any investigating bodies. Qualities I know he exudes in abundance.”

The rest of the press conference seemed to more or less coast by. Norman answered more questions regarding the specific science at play more than anything else, and more than once had to humor ridiculous claims that Mary had somehow been a guardian angel watching over Peter and had saved him from near certain death. Norman checked his watch. He knew that Beck’s minutes of freedom were numbered.

It came just as he was about to stand up and leave.

“Mr. Osborne, we are just receiving word that police had uncovered significant evidence to suggest that Quentin Beck and the late Richard Parker had conspired together in this. Mr. Beck has just been arrested at the Oscorp HQ in New York. Do you have any reaction to that?”

Perfect.

Norman feigned shock. The whole world would be analyzing his immediate reaction to this news and he needed to sell it.

“I am deeply saddened to hear that news” Norman said solemnly, “As I have said before, Mr. Beck was a trusted friend and employee for many years, as was Mr. Parker who was the brother of the aforementioned Ben Parker. I hope you will all respect that myself and my sons will need time in private to process this news. Thank you.”

Job done, Norman stood up and speedily exited the press room. Ben Parker waited for him by the exit.

“You’re a cold, sociopathic son of a bitch” the man said once Norman was in earshot. They climbed into the back of the waiting limousine.

“Are you shedding tears for Quentin Beck, Benjamin?” Norman snapped, “Surely not, I seem to remember you laying him out on the floor of my study once. What’s it to you if I set him up to take this fall?”

“Beck’s unhinged, Norman” Ben replied darkly. He looked into Norman’s eyes through the rear view mirror of the car, “Trust me, you haven’t solved anything. All you’ve done is give him time and a motivation to hate you. You won’t have heard the last of this.”

*

Beck couldn’t believe it.

How could Osborne do this to him?

Should he have seen this coming? Was he naïve, blind, stupid or all three?

The plan had been simple. All Beck had to do was head back to the HQ and doctor files to make it look as if Richard Parker and Bruce Banner had been conspiring together to harness the DNA files and use them for their own gain.

It had been a string.

A perfect set-up.

“I haven’t done anything” he insisted once again to the police officers in the car, all of whom ignored him, “You have to believe me, I haven’t done anything wrong. It was Banner and Parker. It was all Banner and Parker.”

One dead.

One missing.

It should have been easy, all of this. Blame it on two people who weren’t around to deny it but who also wouldn’t be facing any consequences because of that. They could have moved on. Beck could have carried on running the company and doing the good job that he knew he was doing.

Norman had wanted him to carry on the experiments. He had wanted to get Thaddeus Ross involved. And now it all lay in ruins, some of it literally.

And he was the fall guy.

Had he been the fall guy all along? His gut instinct in D.C. earlier had been correct. Norman Osborne had set Quentin Beck up for the biggest fall imaginable. And Beck had fallen right in line.

He would get his revenge for this. One day, he would get his revenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ..............And we'll find out more in the next installment, which should be up some time in February.
> 
> In the meantime,  
> feel free to leave a review,  
> and stay safe,  
> WEAR YOUR MASKS,  
> Love Jamie  
> xxxx

**Author's Note:**

> And to Washington we go!
> 
> Really hope you all enjoyed reading that. PLEASE, please, please leave a comment with your thoughts below as they really do mean a lot to me. I'm very behind on replying but I am working on it.
> 
> OK, that's all,  
> stay safe,  
> much love,  
> Jamie  
> xxxxx


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